David Grohl: Man and Legend
Evan Kitt
7/8 Writer's Workshop F
Rock, we’ve all heard of it; weather it is the most wonderful form of music, or just those things on the ground that you stubbed your toe on that one time. But picture this, all of that before, but different. There’s simply no way to explain it. The scream of the guitar, the steady beat of the drums, the rush of sound, David Grohl reinvented them all, making him the best role model change maker ever.
Born on january 14th, 1969 in Warren, Ohio, Dave Grohl’s parents divorced when he was only 6 years old. So, he fled to rock, starting his first band at age ten. In high school he played in quite a few punk rock bands. He dropped out of high school in junior year, and at 17 joined Scream as their drummer.
Grohl moved around quite a bit during his schooling, but luckily he found his rock, in the form of rock music. After his parents divorced, his cousin introduced him to Punk Rock. Not long after Grohl’s passion for guitar emerged, and quickly joined a string of punk rock bands.
Grohl lead the charge through a time of musical turmoil as tastes changed around him. Grohl joined his first professional band after dropping out of High school in junior year. He joined up with the DC based punk group, Scream. In order to audition though Grohl had to fake his age, saying he was 20, and to his surprise he was asked to join. Grohl toured with them and appeared on three of their albums, before finding Nirvana.
On a tour in 1990 was when Dave first saw his future band mates, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. He didn’t talk to them that night, but only later that year he flew to seattle to audition to be Nirvana's drummer. And they had him. According to Novoselic, “He was a hard hitter …. So bright, so hot, so vital.” In 1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide, Nirvana disbanded and Grohl created the Foo Fighters.
Grohl’s progressive take on music led him to the famed music producer, Greg Kurstin. After many amazing albums including, The Colour And The Shape ,and Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace was when Grohl found Kurstin. Kurtsin was the most wanted music producer of that time. They met in Hawaii, became friends, and before long they were working on a new album; Concrete and Gold. In Grohl's own words, “It’s some bad @$$, $#!^.” Concrete and Gold is the coolest blend of of heavy metal and jazz.
Grohl’s meddling with the musical foundations of rock continued to transform the world he lived in. He has continued and will continue to create interesting and inspiring music. Grohl lived for rock, and because of his musical talent, and his forward facing mentality, Dave Grohl truly is a role model change maker.
Bibliography
“Dave Grohl.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 30 Jan. 2018, www.biography.com/people/dave-grohl-279081.
Foo Fighters VEVO, director. Foo Fighters - The Making of Concrete and Gold. YouTube - Foo Fighters - The Making of Concrete and Gold, 15 Sept. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTeDhSypRgY
Foo Fighters. “Everlong.” The Colour and the Shape, Capitol Records, 20 May 1997. Everlong – Foo Fighters
Laity, Paul. “How to Raise a Rock Star, by Dave Grohl's Mum.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Apr. 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/22/how-to-raise-a-rock-star-by-dave-grohls-mum
